1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates generally to a mounting apparatus of a side airbag for a vehicle and, more particularly, to a mounting apparatus of a side airbag for a vehicle, intended to guide a deployment direction of an airbag cushion to the front of a seat.
2. Description of Related Art
Generally, a vehicle is provided with various kinds of airbag apparatuses to protect the safety of occupants. Among them, a side airbag is provided on a side of a seat back 10 as shown in FIG. 1 in order to protect an occupant in the event of a side crash while an airbag cushion 22 is distended and deployed forwards.
As shown in FIG. 2, the side airbag apparatus is configured so that an airbag module 20 having an inflator 21, an airbag cushion 22, etc. is fixedly mounted to a seat back frame 11. The airbag module 20 is surrounded by a seat pad 12, and the seat pad 12 is surrounded by a seat cover 13.
Further, a slit 12a is formed in the seat pad 12 to guide a deployment direction of the airbag cushion 22 and thereby allow the airbag cushion 22 to be distended and deployed forwards.
Usually, the seat back frame 11 to which the airbag module 20 is attached is mostly manufactured of steel. However, in order to achieve lightness, high fuel efficiency and a reduction in cost, recently, the trend to use a plastic seat back frame has been gaining.
Thus, when a side crash takes place, the airbag cushion 22 should cut the slit 12a of the seat pad 12 and the seat cover 13 and then be deployed and distended to the front of the seat as shown by a dotted line (M1) of FIG. 2 so as to safely protect an occupant. However, the seat back frame 11 made of plastic as described above lacks rigidity, so that the airbag cushion 22 may be disadvantageously deployed towards an indoor side through a space between the seat back frame 11 and the seat pad 12.
That is, in a side crash, a trim panel of a door may be thrust into the indoor side and press the side of the seat. When such a situation occurs, the space in which the airbag cushion 22 is deployed is insufficient, so that the deployment direction of the airbag cushion 22 is not guided to the slit 12a of the seat pad 12 but is guided to the indoor side. Consequently, the airbag cushion 22 may be undesirably deployed to the indoor side through the space between the seat back frame 11 and the seat pad 12 as shown by the dotted line M2 of FIG. 2.
As such, if the airbag cushion 22 is deployed to the indoor side, an occupant sitting in the seat is not sufficiently protected by the airbag cushion 22, thus increasing injuries.
The information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the general background of the invention and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to a person skilled in the art.